The inquest into the deaths of three people at the hands of police is set to begin this week, raising the hopes of a prominent lawyer that long-proposed recommendations will be brought to the forefront.

“There are similar issues in all three and one would hope that their recommendations would be directed to avoiding death in similar circumstances arising from all three, so it might be beneficial (to combine them),” said lawyer Peter Rosenthal, who is acting as counsel for Eligon’s family.

The inquest, which starts Tuesday, comes at a time when police have been under heavy criticism, particularly for the killing of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim, who was shot 8 times and Tasered on an empty streetcar in July.

In Yatim’s case, the Special Investigations Unit saw fit to charge Const. James Forcillo with second-degree murder. In the cases of Eligon, Klibingaitis and Jardine-Douglas, the SIU ruled there were no grounds for criminal charges.

Anita Wasowicz, Klibingaitis’ sister, is fearful of being re-victimized through the inquest process.

“My concern is that my dear sister Sylvia, who suffered from a complex mental illness for which there is no cure, will be spoken about in a distorted manner which perpetuates discrimination and blame of the mentally ill when their symptoms cause them to be in crisis,” she said in an interview with the Star.

“It is frustrating. It seems the police behaviour on the street has not changed much in spite of all the recommendations in the previous years,” said Rosenthal.

The three deaths bear remarkable similarities: all three individuals had mental health issues and were in crisis. All were purportedly carrying sharp weapons when they were shot and killed.

In Eligon’s case, he was wielding two pairs of scissors.

On Feb. 3, 2012, Eligon was in Toronto East General Hospital on an involuntary admission under the Mental Health Act, according to the SIU report. He somehow escaped and entered a nearby convenience store where he took two pairs of scissors.

Eligon went to a nearby residential street and tried to break into two houses. Several residents called police, the SIU says. Eligon approached one of the officers and said something like “one of you is going to die,” according to the SIU. The officer fired three times, striking him once and killing him.

Klibingaitis was reaching out for help Oct. 7, 2011, when police shot her. Aware of her mental state, Klibingaitis phoned 911 and told them she had a knife and was going to commit a crime, according to the SIU. When police arrived, she exited her house holding the knife. One of the officers who responded drew his gun and yelled at her to drop the knife.

He fired three times. Klibingaitis died of a single gunshot to the chest, according to the SIU.

Jardine-Douglas, a Pickering man, was shot and killed Aug. 29, 2010. Police confronted the man on a TTC bus and he pulled a knife out of his bag, according to the SIU report. The officer fired three shots, knocking Jardine-Douglas down. According to the SIU report, the fourth and fatal shot was fired as Jardine-Douglas tried to stand.

Rosenthal hopes this inquest, which is expected to last eight weeks, will address not just training but its implementation by front-line officers.

“There's a high number of similar inquests and many of them have emphasized the need for de-escalation, yet it doesn't happen when it comes to the streets,” said Rosenthal. “The task of this inquest in my view is to do something definitive that would change that. It might involve recommending disciplinary proceedings if officers fail to appropriately de-escalate.”

An inquest into the police shooting deaths of three GTA residents who may have been in a mental-health crisis while wielding knives and scissors will begin on Oct. 15, 2013. Click on the image to learn more on the victims.

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